Peach-throat Reproduction

By Robert George Sprackland, Ph.D.

Continued from the article “Peach-throat Monitors” in the February 2007 issue of REPTILES.

There have been few reported captive-breeding successes for peach-throats, but getting the lizards to reproduce seems to hinge largely on a balanced diet, proper temperatures and appropriate substrate.

Mating occurs after the rainy season, and eggs may be laid 40 to 55 days later. Females will feed up to the day of laying. They will seek a suitable place to excavate a long, narrow tunnel and lay two to 12 eggs in a single clutch, with perhaps two clutches laid per year.

Remove freshly laid eggs and put them in an incubator with a 1-1 ratio of vermiculite or perlite to water medium. Incubation time is not well established, but spans 190 to 204 days when the eggs are kept at 80 to 86 degrees. Based on my field notes for subsurface temperatures in New Guinea, temperatures in moist earth are somewhat cooler than air temperatures by 3 to 5 degrees. It is possible that eggs have a quicker and higher hatch rate at 74 to 82 degrees.